The Well-Armed Woman

You’ve packed up, found your spot on the range, unloaded your gear, and you’re finally ready to start shooting at some targets. But now what? If you don’t have a plan for your time at the range, you can easily blow through a box of ammo without much thought. And considering that a box of 50 rounds of 9mm is essentially equivalent to a little box of gold in this day and age, we have to be a little more conscientious of how we use our practice rounds. In my next two articles I’ll talk about practice tips and drills for beginners and those with more experience.

For new shooters or those with limited experience, starting with the fundamentals is key. My last article went into these fundamentals in detail, but remember to have a good stance, grip, sight alignment, and trigger squeeze. Here are some general tips when starting to practice:

Start with your targets closer in, say 3 yards away and then slowly increase the distance to 5 yards, 7 yards, etc.

Use only a few rounds in your magazine at a time. This will help you focus more on each shot and will help you avoid mistakes made by shooting fatigue.

Don’t worry about speed at this point, this will improve with time. Rushing your shot will more than likely result in you jerking the trigger and missing your target.

The most basic drill to practice is shooting for accuracy. Use a target with a large bullseye and try to shoot the middle of it. As you start to improve your accuracy you can make this drill harder by increasing the distance of the target and/or increasing how fast you shoot.

To start working on quick target acquisition, put 3 targets up. Shoot one round in each target. Increase your speed as you’re able. A progression of this drill is to have a friend call out which target to shoot. This will help build your reaction skills.

If you plan on carrying your weapon (open or concealed), it is essential to practice drawing from your holster. I recommend practicing this with an unloaded firearm until you feel very comfortable with this skill. Once you feel confident, practice drawing your weapon and shooting. Start at a slow speed and slowly increase your pace as you’re able.

To work on basic weapon manipulation skills, start with 2 rounds in your gun and 1 round in a spare magazine. Shoot the two rounds, reload and then shoot the final round. This drill is great for developing skills such as releasing the magazine, reloading, and releasing the slide.

Hopefully this article has provided you with some ideas for optimizing your range time as a beginner. Supplement your time on the range with lots of dry-fire practice; it’s a great way to get a lot skills repetition and it’s free!

TWAW Shooting Chapters exists to educate and empower women in a safe and non-threatening environment for their effective and responsible self-defense with a firearm. Prospective members are welcome to attend their first meeting before joining. If you would like to become a member, you can join online at www.twawshootingchapters.org. Women over 18 interested in learning more can contact Jennifer Everhart at [email protected] or visit TWAW Shooting Chapters, Inc. website at www.twawshootingchapters.org.  You can also like us on Facebook @twawsterlingcolorado or stop by Boondocks Army Surplus at 324 N 4th Street in Sterling and pick up a flyer.